Australia shares end lower as miners weigh
Rio Tinto down despite higher Q3 output
Woodside rises on better annual forecast
Energy stocks close lowest since Sept. 27
Gold stocks close highest since August 2020
Employment data due on Thursday
Updates to close
By Adwitiya Srivastava
Oct 16 (Reuters) -Australian shares closed lower on Wednesday, after hitting a record high in the previous session, as miners weighed on the benchmark due to a dip in iron ore prices amid slowing demand prospects.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 0.4% at the close of trade. The benchmark rose 0.8% to an all time-high on Tuesday.
Heavyweight miners .AXMM fell 0.4% as iron ore prices fell on the prospect of diminishing global demand for the steel-making commodity. IRONORE/
Top iron ore firmRio Tinto RIO.AX fell 1.1% despite posting higherthird-quarter shipments, whileBHP Group BHP.AX shed 1.1%.
The industrials sub-index .AXNJ was down 1.1%, while healthcare stocks .AXHJ fell about 1% and energy firms .AXEJ declined 0.7% to close at their lowest since Sept. 27.
"We are seeing a little profit taking today in some stocks," said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking.
However, top energy firmWoodside Energy WDS.AX was an exception, rising 0.6% after it hiked its annual output expectations.
Investors now look ahead to the country's employment figures for September, due on Thursday, which will play a key role in determining when the central bank will cut rates.
"There is talk of the big four Australian banks starting to move on reducing interest rates to deal with a slowing property market and falling property values," Smoling said.
Among sectoral gainers, gold stocks .AXGD rose 2.6% to close at their highest since Aug. 10, 2020, as bullion prices inched higher. Evolution Mining EVN.AX jumped6.8%, closing at its highest since June 2021, after posting higher first-quarter production.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 1.6% to 12,641.32 points.
The country's annual inflation returned to the central bank's target range of 1%-3% in the third quarter.
Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema
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